English-speaking forest boy baffles German police

He walked out of a German forest, speaking English and knowing only his first name.
Police in Berlin are trying to unravel the mystery of a teenager who says he has no idea
who he is or where he comes from.
The boy presented himself to the Berlin authorities last week saying all he knew was that
his first name was Ray, he was probably 17 years old and he and his father had roamed through
the woods for about five years.
"He speaks fluent English and very broken German," a Berlin police spokesman told the Guardian.
The police have not yet determined if his accent is American, British or that of some other
English-speaking nationality.
He told youth workers that his father, whom he called Ryan, had died two weeks ago and he had buried him in a shallow grave covered with stones. The boy then headed north, following instructions his father had given him.
The pair`s odyssey started after his mother, who he said was named Doreen, died.
He says that he and his father never set up home but kept moving, staying in tents and huts in
the woods.
It is not clear what they ate or how they survived the often harsh German winters.
"He doesn`t show any signs of abuse and he is in good shape physically and psychologically," the spokesman said. The boy says he cannot remember anything about where he lived before the five year journey began.
The Berlin police have appealed for help to all European countries. They have not released a photograph of him.
The story recalls European folk tales of feral children being brought up in the forest. It is also not
the first time an English-speaking stranger has turned up in Germany. In 2006 a man in his 60s
appeared in Mannheim saying his first name was Karl but he had no idea who he was. The police concluded he was suffering from amnesia and never discovered his identity.

Siobhan Dowling, Berlin, The Guardian